The filing period has opened for what most observers expect will be a relatively quiet Torrance City Council race, where three incumbents are widely expected to win re-election.

The race was blown wide open last October when Councilwoman Susan Rhilinger, citing unspecified health reasons, announced she would not immediately seek a second term.

That set off a scramble among potential successors for the seat of the lone woman on a seven-member panel dominated by white men.

But the retired Torrance Police Department captain, the top vote-getter in 2008 and regarded as a potential mayoral candidate in 2014, reconsidered early last month after saying her health had improved.

That left intact the trio of incumbents – including Gene Barnett and Pat Furey – who will seek another term in the June 5 election. All three incumbents were issued nominating papers Wednesday.

In response to Rhilinger’s announcement, candidates who had eyed her seat, including former Councilwoman Maureen O’Donnell, made an abrupt turnaround and decided not to run.

Only two challengers are expected to mount campaigns to dislodge the popular incumbents: former Planning Commissioner Steven Busch and criminal justice student Omar Navarro.

Navarro, a 2007 graduate of West High School, is chairman of the Young Tea Party for the South Bay and a member of evangelical Rolling Hills Covenant megachurch in Rolling Hills Estates.

Busch, a former Torrance school board member, is considered by some to be a polarizing figure in local political circles.

He was not reappointed to the Planning Commission last year after running afoul of the City Hall establishment. Busch had served on the Civil Service Commission for two years before being appointed to the Planning Commission.

Asked to elaborate Thursday on his reasons for running in what would appear an uphill battle, Busch declined to make a substantive statement.

“I think it’s premature to make any statements at this time,” he said, saying he would wait until the nominating period closes before doing so and then called a reporter back a few minutes later.

“An election is democracy in action,” he added.

The nominating period closes March 9 unless one of the incumbents fails to file by then; in that case, the nominating period is extended until March 14.

Veteran journalist Nick Green is the beat reporter for the cities of Torrance, Carson and Lomita and also covers the South Bay's rapidly growing craft beer industry for the Daily Breeze. He has worked for newspapers on the West Coast since graduating in 1987 from the University of Washington and lives in Old Torrance with his wife and two cats. Follow him on Twitter @NickGreen007 and @BeerGogglesLA.